spelling bee
- a spelling competition won by the individual or team spelling the greatest number of words correctly; spelldown.
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Origin of spelling bee
First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for spelling bee
Contemporary Examples
Why allocate education dollars to a community perceived to be off the charts with spelling-bee winners and academic scholars?
Historical Examples
He had not returned to his home after the spelling-bee, nor had he been seen since.
The Daughter of Anderson CrowGeorge Barr McCutcheon
There was a spelling-bee every Friday afternoon, for Sam the only endurable event of the school exercises.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, CompleteAlbert Bigelow Paine
Rosalie did not know that the teacher was to leave Tinkletown surreptitiously until after the spelling-bee.
The Daughter of Anderson CrowGeorge Barr McCutcheon
It had a good deal the look of a spelling-bee with a teacher who meant to stand no nonsense.
The HuntressHulbert Footner
spelling bee
- a contest in which players are required to spell words according to orthographic conventions
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Word Origin
C19: from bee ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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